Drinking Guide to St. Patrick's Day
What to drink on St. Paddy's Day.
I was sidelined this week with whatever virus was going around, and that wasn’t fun, especially with the weather getting spring-like here in Michigan.
But it’s cooling down again just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, a great day to be me. So let’s do a quick rundown of what to eat and drink on Monday — particularly with a Guinness shortage.
Guinness, which holds an 80% global market share of Irish stout, became a social media hit, achieving double-digit growth last year. And apparently, the brand blew by its forecast because of the social media craze, so much so that demand for competitor Murphy’s grew 632% year-over-year in December.
So, if you’re looking to celebrate with an Irish stout, and the beer aisle is devoid of the classic Guinness - I’d suggest first look for other Guinness brands, like the Foreign Extra Stout, or go ahead and grab a Murphy’s, or a O’Hara’s or Beamish if you can find them. Local breweries are also likely pumping them out this time of year.
(Editor’s Note: Make this Guinness Cake.)
If dark beer isn’t your thing — which, you could argue, an Irish stout is fairly light — go for my dad’s favorite, Harp, or a tried and true legend in Smithwick’s Irish Red.
You can also reach for the liquor cabinet, with a plethora of Irish whiskey offerings, perhaps most notably the top-selling Jameson and Bushmills. Irish whiskies, I find to be generally unoffensive and smooth, but maybe that’s just an internal bias.
Beyond that, you can reach for my favorite: Red Breast 12.
Here are a couple of other fun Irish whiskey offerings:
The Sexton Single Malt
Busker Triple Cask
Slane Irish Whiskey
Tullamore D.E.W.
Green Spot
Writers’ Tears
Teeling Whiskey
Two Stacks
McConnell’s
Clonakilty
Natterjack
But honestly, there are so many it’s fun just to experiment!
What’s your favorite St. Patrick’s Day treat? (I love a full Irish dinner with a Guinness and an Irish Coffee dessert.)
If neat or on the rocks isn’t your thing, go for an Irish coffee. Here’s a great recipe from Teeling, which sent over recipes for Irish coffee and Irish Iced Coffee, but you can substitute other Irish whiskeys, of course.
Irish Coffee
1.5 oz whiskey
4 oz. Coffee
.5 oz simple syrup
Bar spoon of heavy cream
Method: In a warmed glass (use hot water), mix whiskey, brewed coffee and syrup, and stir to combine. Top with cream from the back of the bar spoon. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Iced Irish Coffee
2 oz. Whiskey
2 oz. Cold brew
.5 oz. simple syrup
Bar spoon of heavy cream.
Method: Shake whiskey, syrup and cold brew over ice. Strain into glass with ice. Top with cream and garnish with grated nutmeg.
Neat Reads of the Week
Portugal is getting a lot of love lately in the U.S. Earlier this year, we saw a beverage expert predict Port and Tonic would be the drink of the summer; now, Portuguese cuisine is listed by Inside Hook as one of five flavors you’ll taste more in 2025.
“Anthony Bourdain understood that sometimes you just need KFC” - a great subhead in this Food & Wine essay about what it was like to eat with Anthony Bourdain - a man who helped shape the way many view the culinary world now.
I’ll read anything the great Pete Wells of the New York Times writes, particularly something about dogs hunting truffles in Oregon.
This headline is fun: “Would ‘America First’ Champagne Have the Same Sparkle? Tariff Threats Jolt French Wineries,” and so is the article by the Wall Street Journal detailing the effect of a 200% tariff on European wine.